Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez gives remarks during a meeting of the Chicago Board of Education at Jones Prep High School June 27, 2024. With a month remaining before Chicago Public Schools finalizes its budget for the next school year, Chicago Teachers Union members gathered ahead of a Board of Education meeting Thursday to decry end-of-school-year layoffs among approximately 300 CPS staffers in teaching assistant and restorative justice coordinator roles.
CPS said in an emailed statement that it will increase certain paraprofessional positions by hundreds next school year and, in the meantime, “made staffing adjustments” to reflect changes in the student population. However, by establishing ”layoff prevention pools,” CPS said impacted employees will be assigned to vacant positions and guaranteed pay throughout the next school year.
She added that teaching assistants comprise about half of the 600 paraprofessionals impacted by the adjustments overall, representing a half-percent reduction in total staff. Despite a “challenging financial outlook,” CEO Pedro Martinez said at the board meeting that he remained confident either the same level of funding, or a slight increase, would be allocated to schools overall in the 2024-25 budget, which will be considered for approval next month.